Category: Citizens’ Trash Brigade

The Citizens’ Trash Brigade is an idea that literally came to team lead Megan Holt in a dream — complete with the snazzy moniker. The CTB keeps Bayside clean and beautiful through regular community cleanups and volunteer action. Beyond the longstanding tradition of annual spring and fall neighborhood cleanups that bring neighbors together to prepare for changing seasons, the CTB has expanded to include monthly targeted “walk the block” cleanups that focus on one street at a time. Armed with gloves, bags, pickers, and community spirit, volunteers meet at designated locations to tackle litter while strengthening neighborhood bonds. Recent cleanups have been enhanced by partnerships with local businesses who offer discount coupons to volunteers, turning civic duty into an opportunity to support Bayside shops and services while making a visible difference in the neighborhood’s appearance.

Winter is here. Time to help out!

On By BNA AdminIn Citizens' Trash Brigade

The City of Portland asked us to help share information about a great program run by Age Friendly Portland. They are looking for volunteers who can shovel snow for an elderly neighbor this winter, and they’re also seeking Neighborhood Coordinators—particularly from the Rosemont and Deering Center neighborhoods—to help match Portland homeowners with volunteers.

If you’d like to volunteer or want more details, you can contact Linda Weare at 207-541-6620 or email agefriendlycommunity@portlandmaine.gov.

If you are a Portland homeowner age 65+ in need of snow removal assistance, please call 207-541-6620.

ALSO: CTB Block Walk Dec 19th

The BNA Citizens’ Trash Brigade continues monthly block walks, sun or snow! We pick a block to pick up trash along our sidewalks, and if there’s snow, we shovel! Every Baysider knows that although property owners are responsible for their sidewalks, when it snows there are always some stretches of sidewalk that don’t get shoveled, whether by ignorance, neglect or special needs. We know clear sidewalks are only good if the paths connect, so we’re committed to helping bridge the gaps, and we could use your help too. Meet 3pm Friday December 19th at 28 Portland Street.

If you’d like to hear more about the BNA’s Citizen Trash Brigade, email ctb@baysideportland.org

Annual BNA Fall Community Cleanup!

On By Bayside Neighborhood AssociationIn Citizens' Trash Brigade, Events

Saturday, September 20th 10am-noon

meet @ Bayside Community Garden on Chestnut Street

Every year for decades Bayside neighbors and friends have come together to cleanup our streets and sidewalks and enjoy each other’s company in preparation for the winter. This year every participant will be given a valuable Bayside Business Coupon Card, good for deep discounts at sponsoring Bayside restaurants, shops, services, venues and vendors.

We’ll meet at the Bayside Community Garden on Chestnut Street and choose routes from there. Trash bags, gloves, pickers, water, coffee and snacks are provided.

Thanks to our local businesses who offered discounts to volunteers:
Leavitt & Sons Deli
Two Fat Cats Bakery
Lay Day Coffee Roasters
The Studio Portland
Fortune Teller Tattoo
Cyclebar
Maine Clay Collaborative
Isa Bistro
F45 Training
Bayside Bowl
Check back in the Spring for your chance to earn a Bayside Business Coupon Card from the BNA!

BNA Team Reports September 2025

On By BNA AdminIn Arts & Music, Baysider, Citizens' Trash Brigade, Comms Team, Events, Garden, Governance, Relevant Developments, Safe Streets, Social Services, Trees & Greens, Welcome Team 
Bayside Business Breakfast Club — Stacy Begin, lead — Betsy Boyd, board liaison
	The Business Breakfast Club agreed to a new coupon idea for the fall cleanup rather than a raffle. This year every volunteer will receive some kind of discount from participating businesses. The group also discussed lending more support to the Baysider through an advertising program. The group is moving forward with a visitors’ map and applied for a $500 micro-grant through the city’s sustainability office to finish the project. Next meeting is Sept. 24th at the Maine Access Immigration Network on Oxford Street.

BNA Citizens’ Trash Brigade — Megan Holt, lead — Rob Sylvain, board liaison 
	Annual BNA Fall Community Cleanup, Saturday September 20th 10am-noon. Every fall for decades Bayside neighbors and friends have come together to clean up our streets and sidewalks and enjoy each other's company in preparation for winter.  This year every participant will be given a valuable Bayside Business Coupon Card, good for deep discounts at sponsoring Bayside restaurants, shops, services, venues and vendors.	

Relevant Developments Team — Amelia LaBreck, lead — Jim Hall, board liaison
	Councilor Michniewicz will address the board tonight regarding the former Federated Property now in city hands. A representative from Maine Music Alliance will address the board regarding the Live Nation project. Full list of current property development projects here: https://tinyurl.com/bnaprops 

Tech Team — Joey Brunelle, lead — Jim Hall, board liaison
	New deadline for submissions to the next issue of the Baysider is September 3rd. Advertising is being solicited to offset printing costs. Johnny Sylvain has successfully ported the google calendar, contacts, and email forwards to the new admin account.
	
Garden Team — Holly Picotte, lead — Susan McClosky, board liaison
	The garden is in full bloom and is looking very beautiful!
	
Tree Team — Avery Yale Kamila, lead — Susan McClosky, board liaison
	The Tree Hugging event sponsored by the Bayside Neighborhood Association and Portland Parks and Recreation is now scheduled for Saturday, September 13th on the Bayside Trail. The Penobscot Nation drum group will perform a welcome ceremony, Portland’s Supervising Park Ranger Liz Collado will lead a forest bathing experience, Rangers will also serve white pine tea, and have tree-related resources and information available. City Arborist Mark Reiland will be displaying the trunk of the oak tree removed from Oxford Street to spark interest in a future public art project. Deirdre Paul is designing a flyer for Am-at-eur Service to print.

Art Team — Kincaid Pearson, lead — Betsy Boyd, board liaison
	Portland Downtown’s utility box painting program call for artists ends September 2nd. Seeking funding for a public art project using material from the oak tree recently felled to make way for Reveler’s apartment building at 89 Elm Street. Amelia Labreck has agreed to assist in reviving the BNA Black Frame Art Sale fundraiser. 

Safe Streets Team — 
Bowman has stepped down as team lead. Looking for new leadership. Scott Morrision reports the following through Jen Rogers at Midtown Community Policing:
a) August 2025- Citywide- 6,852 ; Bayside-1,040 ; 15.18% 
b) August 2024- Citywide- 6,873; Bayside- 1,187; 17.27% 
c) 2025 Bayside Monthly Average- 19.33% (2024 avg.-19.28%) 
d) 2017-2025 Bayside Monthly Average- 18.13% 

BAYsideBees Events team — Deidre Paul, lead — Peter Markoe, board liaison
	Deidre and Peter have aligned on a date for the Pet Costume Parade and Block Party.  We are eyeing the Bayside trail as the location, and have applied for the city block grant to help fund activities that will bring neighbors to the event, whether they have a pet or not.  

Budget and Finance Committee - Chair Peter, Tom, Rob.
	The finance committee has not officially met, but the GiveButter campaign is live, and we already have two donors! 

Membership and Outreach Committee - Chair Colette, Betsy, Susan.
	(Corrections welcome) The MO committee met in mid-August to formulate a plan for canvassing the neighborhood. They generated a form that can be included as a QR code within the membership packet. We are figuring the best date and time to begin canvassing along with routes and groupings.

Mid-month Update

On By Robert SylvainIn Business Club, Citizens' Trash Brigade, Comms Team, Governance, Relevant Developments, Safe Streets, Uncategorized

Lots going on in Bayside, and the BNA teams are rising to meet the moment. If you want to join a team, just send an email to any of the groups below, and a team lead will get back to you asap. If you have an idea for a team and want to get it started, we want to hear from you. Let’s do it!

The Tech Team is working on better communication pathways for the general membership, including mailchimp, which will allow us to send targeted email news and allow subscribers to tailor how they receive updates from various teams. We’re also now using google workspace to organize teams into google groups that can share files, calendar events, to-do lists, plus follow and archive conversations by topic within each team and between teams. Setting up the groups in a way that is simple to use but powerful enough to keep track of team tasks and communications, calendar events, shared files and important links has proven to be a challenge, but worthwhile. If you have experience and/or interest in admin tools please consider joining the tech team and helping us out.

Recent News

December’s Safe Streets Meeting was met with a strong response from the community and from the media. Troy Bennett from Bangor Daily News was in attendance and wrote this article about the effort and subsequently WCSH6 Newscenter Maine picked up the story as did WGME CBS13 shown below. The next Safe Streets Team meeting will be Tuesday, February 25th, 6:00pm in the Steve Hirshon Community Room at Unity Village, 24 Stone Street, Portland.

If you missed last month’s BNA Board meeting on zoom, you can view a recording of it here:
BNA Board Meeting January 7 2025 See below for details on the next board meeting.

Upcoming Events

Saturday January 25, 11am
BNA Citizens’ Trash Brigade
Parris Street Block Walk

UPDATE: With the recent snowfall we’re pivoting to salt & sand for sidewalks on Parris Street, which has several spots that need attention. We’ll provide buckets of sand & salt from the city lot, shovels and a few ice choppers. If you have an ice chopper please bring it! We’ll warm up afterward at Wilson BBQ. 

OP: We’re coming together for a short pickup party targeting Preble Street in particular, focusing on bits and butts that get overlooked during the Spring & Fall cleanup, and also to get eyes on the street to take stock of the pedestrian experience, flag infrastructure concerns, and to get to know each other. Afterward we’re planning to gather at Wilson BBQ to warm up, wind down, and plan for next month’s block walk. We’ll meet at 72 Parris Street and walk together. Trash bags and gloves provided.

Monday January 27, 6:00pm
Portland Music Hall Presentation
Composing Room @ Press Hotel
119 Exchange St, Portland, ME

The BNA Development Developments Team invites Baysiders to attend a public presentation by Portland Performance Ventures, LLC on their proposal for a 3,300-seat Live Nation music venue at the site of the old Press Herald printing press building across Myrtle Street from the Merrill Auditorium in Bayside. More information on the project is available on the city of portland website here:  https://selfservice.portlandmaine.gov/

Wednesday January 29, 8:30am
Bayside Business Breakfast Club
Isa Bistro, 79 Portland St. Portland, ME

The Bayside Neighborhood Association is starting 2025 with a renewed commitment to connecting with diverse stakeholders and providing opportunities for community members to come together in pursuit of shared goals. To that end, we’re excited to present the first of what will be monthly events specifically for Bayside business owners to meet in an informal setting to meet, chat, and plan a better future for all Baysiders.

RSVP here to get an invitation:  https://forms.gle/hWHtLfRxynBA2NrYA 

Next BNA Board Meeting:  Tuesday, February 4, 2025 6:00pm in the Steve Hirshon Community Room at Unity Village, 24 Stone Street. Open to the public. Please email info@baysideportland.org for more information. Check our community calendar often for updates and more events.

http://www.baysideportland.org

Mission Statement:
“The Bayside Neighborhood Association (BNA) empowers the Bayside community by building meaningful partnerships that promote health, safety, green spaces, diversity, housing, and sustainable development for all who live, work, and play in this unique urban neighborhood.”

We need your help! Please consider a tax-deductible donation to the BNA, a 501c(3) non-profit organization. Contact Jim Hall, treasurer for more information at jim@baysideportland.org

BNA Spring Community Cleanup and Raffle

On By Bayside Neighborhood AssociationIn Citizens' Trash Brigade, Uncategorized

It’s time to do a little spring cleaning! Join your friends and neighbors on Saturday, April 23 2022 10AM – 12PM for snacks, a chance to win a gift certificate, and a big dose of community pride. All volunteers entered for a chance to win a gift certificate to a great Bayside business – Leavitt & Son’s Deli, Wilson County BBQ, Maine Oyster Company, Bayside Bowl, and Bayside American Cafe!

BNA Spring Cleanup 2022 (1)